Associations Between Barriers to Implementing Evidence-Based Practice and Patient Safety.

Background and Purpose: Few studies have assessed the associations between barriers to evidence-based practice (EBP) implementation and patient safety perceptions among nurses. The purpose of this study was to describe perceived barriers to implementing EBP and their associations with perceived patient safety and the frequency of events reported among nurses. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was used. A self-reported questionnaire was answered by 404 participants in Muscat, the capital city of Oman. Descriptive statistics and linear regression analyses were implemented. Results: Over half of the nurses expressed a positive response regarding the overall perception of patient safety. Nurses who perceived more barriers to finding and reviewing research had more overall perception of patient safety. Meanwhile, nurses who perceived more barriers to changing practice had more frequency of events reported. Implications for Practice: Interventions to decrease barriers to EBP should be included in all hospital policies and strategies to enhance patient safety perception and frequency of events reported among nurses. The strategies should focus on enhancing research utilization and changing practice.

Parenting a Child With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Perspective of Jordanian Mothers.

INTRODUCTION: Parenting a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is challenging for mothers because of concerns related to behavior, difficulties in accessing specialized care, and lack of community acceptance, yet their stories in Jordanian context are still unknown. Common challenges in Jordan include financial burdens, lack of public awareness, and lack of specialized knowledge even among health care providers, which may lead to delays in obtaining the diagnosis and interventions for ASD. METHOD: A phenomenological descriptive approach was used to explore and understand the mothers' everyday lived experiences of raising a child with ASD. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 14 mothers to identify their challenges so that nurses can identify gaps in services, empower families, and facilitate optimum care to these Jordanian families. FINDINGS: The main themes that emerged were (1) mothers' journeys with the diagnosis, in which mothers recognized the abnormalities of their children, reported delays in getting the diagnosis and initiation of treatment, and described a wide range of reactions to the diagnosis from grief and guilt to a blessing from God; (2) the burden of care, by which mothers reported physical and emotional exhaustion, financial burdens, and concerns about the quality of available services; and (3) the consequences and the hurdle of having a child with ASD, which affected the family relationships and social life. DISCUSSION: Jordanian mothers caring for children with ASD face several challenges, including physical, psychological, financial, and social challenges, in addition to limited specialized services. Identifying their unique challenges and needs are essential to support them, provide appropriate services and resources, and develop policies and guidelines for culturally competent quality services.

Nurses' Burnout: The Influence of Leader Empowering Behaviors, Work Conditions, and Demographic Traits.

Nurse burnout is a widespread phenomenon characterized by a reduction in nurses' energy that manifests in emotional exhaustion, lack of motivation, and feelings of frustration and may lead to reductions in work efficacy. This study was conducted to assess the level of burnout among Jordanian nurses and to investigate the influence of leader empowering behaviors (LEBs) on nurses' feelings of burnout in an endeavor to improve nursing work outcomes. A cross-sectional and correlational design was used. Leader Empowering Behaviors Scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) were employed to collect data from 407 registered nurses, recruited from 11 hospitals in Jordan. The Jordanian nurses exhibited high levels of burnout as demonstrated by their high scores for Emotional Exhaustion (EE) and Depersonalization (DP) and moderate scores for Personal Accomplishment (PA). Factors related to work conditions, nurses' demographic traits, and LEBs were significantly correlated with the burnout categories. A stepwise regression model-exposed 4 factors predicted EE: hospital type, nurses' work shift, providing autonomy, and fostering participation in decision making. Gender, fostering participation in decision making, and department type were responsible for 5.9% of the DP variance, whereas facilitating goal attainment and nursing experience accounted for 8.3% of the PA variance. This study highlights the importance of the role of nurse leaders in improving work conditions and empowering and motivating nurses to decrease nurses' feelings of burnout, reduce turnover rates, and improve the quality of nursing care.

The incidence of end-stage renal disease in two regions of kingdom of saudi arabia.

Maintaining patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on renal replacement therapy is expensive and it is important to increase efforts towards reducing the incidence of ESRD. For this, a sound knowledge of the magnitude of the problem is necessary. This study was undertaken to estimate the incidence of ESRD in two regions of Saudi Arabia namely: Gizan, situated in the Southern area with a population of 654,685; and Al-Madinah, situated in the North Western area with a population of 828,477. All general hospitals and primary care centers under the Ministry of Health in the two regions were included in the study. Those patients in whom two consecutive serum creatinine values above 265 micromol/L were recorded were recruited into the study. There were no non governmental centers offering care for patients with renal failure in the study regions at the time of the study. A total of 108 patients in Al-Madinah region and 187 patients in Gizan fulfilled the criteria of the study. Sex distribution was similar in both regions, 61% male and 39% female. There were 71.3% Saudi and 28.7% Non-Saudi patients in Al-Madinah and 65.2% Saudis and 34.7% Non-Saudi patients in Gizan. Analysis of age distribution showed that the highest prevalence occurred among patients between 41 and 60 years of age in Al-Madinah whereas in Gizan it was between 21 to 50 years. The annual incidence of ESRD in Al-Madinah was 65.2 per million population (PMP) and in Gizan 189 PMP. The higher incidence in Gizan may be due to ethnic, socio-economic and environmental factors. A large scale study covering all parts of the Kingdom is needed to throw more light on such variations in the incidence of ESRD in the Kingdom.

Ramadan fasting and renal transplant recipients: Clinical and biochemical effects.

Eleven renal transplant recipients were studied while fasting during the month of Ramadan. All were asymptomatic. The serum and urinary bichemical analysis showed no significant changes. Also, there were no adverse effects on the allograft and the cyclosporine A levels did not change significantly. There was a significant elevation of serum potassium levels during fasting, but the levels always remained within normal limits. Our study indicates that fasting during Ramadan does not seem to be associated with any significant ill effects in renal transplant recipients. However, studies involving larger numbers of patients are needed to confirm this observation.

Tacrine-suxamethonium apnea in patients with hepatosplenic schistosomiasis.

Twelve patients with hepatosplenic bilharziasis were compared with another twelve control group. They were divided into three subgroups of four patients each. The duration of suxamethonium tacrine apnea was measured in the first subgroup, while in the second subgroup, the suxamethonium tacrine apnea was calculated after a previous dose of suxamethonium. The duration of apnea following two successive doses of suxamethonium was estimated in the third subgroup. The plasma cholinesterase was measured in all patients. The duration of suxamethonium apnea was not different following either the first or second dose. Tacrine prolonged suxamethonium apnea in both groups, but the prolongation was more in bilharzial patients. There was no significant difference in the plasma cholinesterase level in either group.